Urbanisation proceeds with no strategic vision

Development economists at a programme said on Wednesday the experience with urbanisation in Bangladesh is rather dismal as it has proceeded haphazardly with no strategic vision.

They also said there is little control over the conversion of land from agricultural to non-agricultural while land rights are highly insecure. They stressed on decentralisation of administration and establishment of an accountable city governance system.

They noted that the aspirations to be a mid-income and high income country need institutional reforms as goals and targets require to be matched with strategies, policies and institutions.

Their observations came during a book launching ceremony at PKSF auditorium in the city.

Bangladesh Economists' Forum (BEF) organised the event where state minister for finance MA Mannan was present as the chief guest in the unveiling programme of the book titled 'Institutions for Development -- Urbanisation and Land Issues in Bangladesh '

Institute for inclusive finance and development (InM) executive director Mostafa K Mujeri said in most cities of Bangladesh there is high proportion of population living in a very poor and overcrowded conditions in informal settlements lacking adequate water, sanitation, drainage, healthcare, sewerage and good governance.

Land rights are highly insecure in Bangladesh. Tenure insecurity in turn discourages farmers from mid or long term investment. Poor and vulnerable group finds they are in danger in accessing their land, he added.

Weak governance, whether in formal land administration or customary tenure arrangements, show that land rights of the poor are not protected, the noted economist said.

InM and PKSF chairman Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad said in greater Dhaka about 9000 people live in per square kilometre. This means about 30,000 in the city and 50,000 in the city's hub.

Everyday 1700 people come to Dhaka from outside for living, which means Dhaka's population has been increasing at a 3.6 per cent rate. Overall rate of population increased in Dhaka is 4.5 per cent to 5.0 per cent, he said.

Moreover, the plans which are formulated never get implemented like detailed area plan (DAP).

There are many agencies for managing Dhaka but there is no coordination among them, said Kholiquzzaman.

"They even do not know what is their responsibility".

"We have been hearing that 26 canals are being reclaimed for many times. The rest of the canals are blocked with garbage," said Mr Ahmad, adding: they can at least clean the drains. But they are wasting time.

He laid emphasis in creating proper environment for people to live in rural areas with adequate employment generation. But there is a huge policy gap in this issue, he said.

He also stressed on decentralisation of administration and business.

Several speakers said that Tokyo has 7000 population per square kilometre while Dhaka has 28000. Planned urbanisation is structurally related with planned industrialisation. They also said 50 per cent of the land purchased remains unregistered while weak institutional governance has been creating scope for rent seeking. From the major footpath-based hawker markets, Tk 18.25 billion is collected every year as ransom which should be brought under taxation.

Policy Research Institute (PRI) vice chairman Sadiq Ahmed said that much has been debated and discussed about strategies and policies. But far less attention has been given to the subject of institutions. At the global level there is now growing recognition that proper functioning of institutions is critical to development.

The importance of institutions for the development of Bangladesh is slowly becoming evident as economic transformation from a rural-agrarian base economy to a modern urban-centric manufacturing and services-based economy is happening. The ability to achieve the 2031 and 2041 targets will substantially depend upon how quickly and smoothly Bangladesh is able to accelerate this transition, he said.

"Research shows that while Bangladesh is making good progress on development strategy and policy front, the progress on institutions is weak. Bangladesh must put more emphasis to develop its core institutions to secure the long-term development targets," the noted economist said.

Development economists also recognised that the institutional deficit in Bangladesh is yawningly widely, said Mr Sadiq.

While talking about chaotic and unplanned urbanisation, he said two simple examples will disclose the magnitude of the service challenge. First, according to HIES 2016, only 12 per cent of the national population has access to piped water. Second, only 20 per cent of the Dhaka population has access to a sewerage system that is connected to sewerage treatment plant. No other city has a treated sewerage system.

In helping find long-term solutions to this nightmare, the paper argues that Bangladesh can seek to influence the urbanisation path by diversifying growth along several urban centres instead of continued concentration on a few large cities. Spreading the growth of cities will reduce the pressure on Dhaka and make its future growth more manageable.

[email protected]